Taking Personal Responsibility for Climate Change | SolveClimate.com

The other day, I went to a gathering of 50 people interested in advocating for clean energy in the United States. I rode my bike there. At least a dozen people commented on what a “good girl” I was for doing so.

PoliGazette » The Carbon Tax Solution to Climate Change Won’t Work

It’s going to take a lot of government incentivizing to get anyone to consider that part of the United States viable for wind, and the Northeast and Midwest viable for solar. So yes, Andrew is right. A carbon tax would end a large government regulation program, but a large government subsidy program would go in its place. That’s hardly limiting the size of government, at least from where I’m sitting. The subsidizing is likely to happen, anyway, minus a carbon tax, but it would still exist either way. Lets not even get into the overspending the government is likely to do in a knee-jerk reaction to public furor over their increased energy taxes.

So, there you have it. A carbon tax would create financial hardship for years, maybe decades, before alternative energy would become widespread, if it ever does. It would not actually lead to less government, but more government, since subsidies would need to be given to bring the technology to certain areas of the country. Personally, I think the former problem is the worse of the two, since we’re already in extremely harsh financial conditions. I simply don’t think a tax would be sustainable for long, even in the best of economic conditions. The reason is simple politics. Even if you could initially persuade the American public that this was a good thing, politicians would shy away once constituents started demanding the end of them. There are not many politicians that are going to tie their chances for re-election on an unpopular tax. It’s just not going to happen.

Quote of the Week #2 « Watts Up With That?

From “Pragmatic”, on the Lindzen on negative feedback thread:

“What most alarmists don’t seem to fathom is that real people want balance in their decision/learning process. Balance arrives on the wings of debate.”